Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fishing reel, and more particularly, to a fishing reel capable of improving a braking force of a braking unit.
Description of the Related Art
Generally, in order to alleviate a problem of a line backlash (also referred to as ‘line nesting’) which is a phenomenon that a fishing line gets entangled due to excessive rotation of a spool, a spool drag of a fishing reel is commonly used in a bait casting reel.
The spool drag or a spool brake system uses the spool which is oriented in a lateral direction and rotates while throwing the fishing line, such that the bait casting reel is more likely to result in a backlash than a spinning reel and a spin-casting reel.
Such a problem mainly occurs due to a rotational momentum generated by the spool.
A variety of brake systems have been developed in order to reduce the problem of backlash. Such brake systems mainly used in the art include a magnet brake system or a centrifugal brake system.
Unlike the magnet brake system, the centrifugal brake system has an advantage in that as a rotation speed of the spool is increased, a braking force exerted by the centrifugal brake system is increased.
As an example of such a conventional centrifugal brake system, a brake system of a fishing reel has been filed and issued by the applicant in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0969227, which will be briefly described below.
The conventional brake system of a fishing reel includes: a frame having a right plate and a left plate; a spool which is rotatably mounted on the frame between the right and left plates and has a fishing line wound thereon; a main shaft which penetrates the spool to longitudinally extend; a level winding mechanism which moves across the spool during winding so that the fishing line is uniformly wound over the entire length of the spool; a right cover fixed to an outer surface of the right plate; a handle which operatively extends from the right cover and serves to rotate the spool; a reel foot which is formed on a bottom of the frame so as to attach the fishing reel to a fishing rod; a left cover fixed to the left plate; a spool cover which is disposed between the spool and the left cover, and includes a cylindrical inner wall, first brake collars or magnetic brake devices formed on the inner wall, circular protrusions formed in a central part thereof, and second brake collars formed on the protrusions; and a brake assembly which is disposed between the spool and the spool cover and allows the second brake collar to perform a brake operation when a fishing weight or a fishing needle attached to an end of the thrown fishing line passes through a peak point to decrease a rotation force of the spool, so as to put the brake on the spool, wherein the brake assembly includes a brake housing coupled to the main shaft so as to come in close contact with the spool, a housing cover coupled to the brake housing, brake shoes coupled to the brake housing, and coil springs provided between the brake housing and the spool cover so as to elastically support the brake shoes, and the brake housing includes a plurality of outer coupling units formed on an upper surface thereof at a constant interval so that the brake shoes are inserted outward, and a plurality of inner coupling units formed between each of the outer coupling units so that the brake shoes are inserted inward, wherein the inner coupling unit includes insertion parts into which the coil springs are inserted, and a plurality of locking grooves formed on an outer circumference thereof.
In the conventional brake system of a fishing reel having the above-described configuration, since the brake shoes for putting the brake on the inner wall of the spool cover and the protrusions are respectively operated, a large number of components are required, and thereby the structure thereof is complicated and a lot of time and labor are consumed to assemble the same.
In particular, the brake shoe for putting the brake on the inner wall of the spool cover is operated by a centrifugal force of the spool. In this case, the brake shoe directly receives the centrifugal force of the spool, and thereby, in this structure, a braking force of the brake shoe is significantly decreased.
In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,984,221 and 6,003,798, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2015-000817, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1510728, and the like disclose the brake system of a fishing reel using the brake shoes. However, such the techniques also have a poor braking force, or are inconvenient for use due to a complicated structure.